Regional Economy Activation and the Hometown Tax Payment System

The Hometown Tax payment system was established eight years ago under the 2008 tax reforms. Few paid attention to the system then; knowledge of its enactment and understanding of its concept were minimal. Local government bodies have recently started actively promoting the Hometown Tax payment system, and the amount of taxes paid has surged along with the amount of thank-you gifts. For example, among the local government bodies that received large amounts of HometownTax payments in 2015, seven of them received more than 2,000 million yen. The largest tax amount received ― 3,527.18 million yen ― was at Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture. This article examines the structure of the Hometown Tax payment system and the process of its establishment and compares how two local government bodies are handling Hometown Tax payments while considering this system from the standpoint of general taxation principles. We also analyze students' awareness of these tax payments and, lastly, comment on how the Hometown tax payment system should be used to reinvigorate local economies.通巻第39